This morning I felt led to meditate on John 19, and that Chapter has to do with Jesus' trial before Pilate, and then His crucifixion. I have spent quite a bit of time meditating on Jesus Passion, but generally that is during Lent, or during Holy week. This morning I felt specifically focused on the following verses - John 19:28-30 NIV:
[28] "Later, knowing that everything had now been finished, and so that Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” [29] A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus' lips. [30] When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit."
I was thinking about how understated verse 28 and Jesus' comments in verse 30 were in context of what actually was accomplished! Jesus in His final minutes, fulfilled the last of the prophecies concerning Himself, and understood that He had accomplished all that He had been sent to accomplish! What an incredible statement! Imagine yourself on death's doorstep, looking at your life and recognizing that You had completed everything You had been tasked to complete! Despite His pain and suffering, there must have been peace in His heart. I guess that would meet the definition of the peace of God that passes our understanding!
Secondly, to put this in theatrical terms, this was clearly the finish of the first act, not the final curtain! The author of the letter to the Hebrews writes, "for the joy set before him he endured the cross." (Hebrews 12:2 NIV) I don't believe that this was joy over the fact that He would be returning to Heaven to sit on the His throne, although that clearly is a joyful thought, but rather joy over what was shortly to follow, namely the birth of the church, and its empowering by the Holy Spirit, and its release into the future destiny of the world! Jesus was living out His prophetic parable of the single grain of wheat falling into the ground, but in doing so giving forth a harvest (John 12:24).
I believe that in some way Jesus, while still in His servant human form, saw prophetically what was to come! He saw and understood what would be birthed, what restoration of relationship with the Father meant, what fulfilling the Law accomplished, what sending the Holy Spirit would produce! He understood that things were about to get very exciting! I believe He also saw the vast future generations affected by His single life! What a legacy!
This is actually what I felt as I was reading these few verses this morning. I felt His eyes on me, seeing me from that vast distance and saying yes, it was worth it! Wow!
There are many days that I wonder if my life is accomplishing what God has purposed for me! I wonder if I am having any impact, if my life is producing anything of lasting value. I think of my life, of how distracted I am, how little I think of the Lord, and yet I felt His pleasure and acknowledgement this morning in a way that thudded (I don't know if that is a word, but that is how it felt) my heart!
Over the last few years I have done some tracing of my ancestry, and that of my lovely wife, and it turns out we can trace her family roots back to the time of Christ. I say this not to brag, but rather to bring to light the number of generations between her and her most ancient ancestor. According to her family tree on Ancestry.Com, there are only 64 generations from Dwywg AP BRYCHWAIN of Britain (who was estimated to have been bron in 25BC), for he is the 64th great-grandfather of my wife. Put in the scale of generations, that does not seem like that many generations between the time of Christ and our present age! I imagine that when the Lord looked up from the cross, that He saw something like the family tree I could produce from Dwywg to my wife, with Himself at the root! I believe He saw the vast impact His life was going to have on future generations and really the whole world. Wow!
This morning I am just so aware of Jesus' nearness and His joy over me! He looks at me, and He looks at all of us who follow Him and knows that His sacrifice was worth it all! He looks at the lost and knows the price has been paid for them as well, and desires that they come to know Him, the Father and the Holy Spirit! I am so grateful for all that He accomplished, and embrace His finished work with gratitude!
Amen!
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